Art and Society: Ancient and Modern Contexts of Egyptian Art

has the pleasure to invite you to participate and present a paper in the conference

Art and Society: Ancient and Modern Contexts of Egyptian Art

to be held on 13–15 May 2010 at the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest

By placing ancient Egyptian art in a broad historical perspective that exceeds the temporal and spatial boundaries of ancient Egypt, the aim of the conference is to bring together Egyptologists engaged in the study of art and society in order to create a conversation about art in ancient Egypt, with special focus on its roles in and implications on both ancient and modern societies. Though focus is on visual arts, other forms of art are not excluded from the discourse.

We intend to bring both theoretical and practical viewpoints into the dialogue. Variations and varieties, continuities and discontinuities in ancient Egyptian artistic perception and production, as well as in later interpretations, understandings and uses of ancient Egyptian art should also be central concerns of the conference.

Proposed topics include but are not limited to the following areas/aspects:• The study of ancient Egyptian art: historiography, methods, theoretical approaches• Definitions, terminologies and classifications (ancient and modern/current): definitions of terms referring to the notions 'art' and 'artist', classifications and hierarchies of forms of art, genres and boundaries between genres, the validity of both Egyptian and modern/current terminologies and categories• Art and power: control of art, restrictions to access to art, the impact of changes in power relations and structures on artistic representation and production• Themes of art; what is displayed and what is not; the role of art in shaping and representing social identities, ideologies and beliefs• Artistic expression: contexts of making and modifying rules; traditions and changes in form and content; the (changing) interplay of visual, spatial, and textual arts• Art and social realities: different socio-cultural contexts and traditions of art, art and economy, centre and periphery, networks of connection• Participation in art: patronage; commissioning; customers; training, knowledge, and social status of producers of works of art; social behaviour of participants• Artistic production: institutions, corporations of producers of works of art, artistic media, quantity and quality of works of art, elite and 'mass' production, workshops and styles, technologies• Egyptian art in later societies (ancient and modern/contemporary): Egyptian art as a resource for later artistic expression, ideologies, and construing identities; socio-cultural backgrounds for collecting and displaying Egyptian antiquities

The languages of the conference will be English, French and German.

Papers should last 20 minutes, with a further 10 minutes for questions and discussion.

Abstracts (not more than 300 words in Word or Rtf format) and registration forms should be sent preferably by e-mail or alternatively by post until 25 September 2009.

The proceedings of the conference will be published by the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest.